Men’s Lacrosse: Anderson has been big for SBU

Stony Brook University senior attack Brody Eastwood certainly knows a good lacrosse player when he sees one. After all, he is the school’s all-time goal-scoring leader.

Eastwood recently praised the all-around play of midfielder Tyler Anderson, a Shoreham-Wading River High School graduate.

“He’s been strong for us all year,” Eastwood said. “He’s been strong on the wings. He’s a big kid, fast, always getting GBs [ground balls]. When he gets his opportunities, he buries them. He’s always a huge help for us.”

Seawolves coach Jim Nagle has liked what he has seen in Anderson and freshman Ryland Rees, saying they are “very talented” long-stick midfielders.

“We feel like we have two of the very best long-pole middies for their age out there,” he said. “They are tremendous players. I feel like as they mature and get more comfortable, as we improve at the faceoff, we should be able to [score] a lot.”

As a long-stick midfielder who specializes on the defensive side, Anderson doesn’t get very many scoring opportunities. So, when the sophomore gets one, he must make the most of them.

Anderson first demonstrated how huge he could be in Stony Brook’s recent 15-7 America East win over UMass Lowell after Matthew Balter cut Stony Brook’s lead to 3-2 with 2 minutes 30 seconds left in the opening quarter.

Nine seconds after Jay Lindsay won the ensuing faceoff, the 6-foot-2, 220-pound Anderson scored to quell the momentum.

“There’s always a little bit of nerves coming down there because we don’t get to shoot that often,” Anderson said. “So, it’s always fun watching the long poles score a goal. It gets the team hyped up, especially after UMass scores.”

After Stony Brook goaltender Zach Oliveri made two saves within a 29-second span in the second quarter, Anderson found the net again to lift the Seawolves (11-3, 4-1) into an 8-3 advantage with his fourth goal of the season with 2:10 left.

“He has been playing unreal all season,” Anderson said of Oliveri. “Today he did not disappoint. Right before that goal he bailed us out of a sticky situation. He found me on an outlet pass. That’s his goal. He put in all the work for that goal. I have to give a shout out to him about that.”

Anderson added, “To be able to go down there and score again shuts down their momentum.”

Photo Caption: Tyler Anderson carries the ball up field for Stony Brook in a game this season. (Credit: Stony Brook Athletics)